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Bulls forward Nikola Mirotic battles for a rebound against Al Horford on Tuesday in Boston. The Bulls pulled off the upset and lead the top-seeded Celtics 2-0 in the series. (Associated Press)

Wednesday, April 19, 2017 1:00 am

NBA Playoffs

Bulls continue to beat up on Celtics

Associated Press

BOSTON – Jimmy Butler scored 22 points, Rajon Rondo finished one rebound shy of a triple-double and the Chicago Bulls beat the Boston Celtics 111-97 on Tuesday night to take a 2-0 lead in their series against the No. 1 seed in the Eastern Conference.

Dwyane Wade had 22 points, including 16 in the second half, and Robin Lopez added 18 points and eight points.

The Bulls host Game 3 on Friday.

After a better start by the Celtics, a familiar theme started to take hold as the Bulls took control by again dominating on the offensive glass. Chicago held a 43-38 rebounding edge for the game.

Isaiah Thomas scored 20 points for Boston.

Boston got within 91-82 early in the fourth before Chicago went on a 14-4 run to push its lead up to 19.

The Celtics did a much better job containing Bobby Portis in Game 2 after he hurt them with 19 points off the bench in Game 1. But Paul Zipser picked up the slack in Game 2, scoring 16 points in 29 minutes.

After getting thoroughly pushed around underneath in Game 1, the Celtics grabbed the first four rebounds of the night while scoring the game's first seven points.

That changed quickly, though, as the Bulls responded with a 20-4 run. Boston's early rebounding edge evaporated just as fast, with all five Bulls starters grabbing an offensive rebound in the first six minutes of action.

RAPTORS 106, BUCKS 100: In Toronto, Kyle Lowry scored 22 points, including the clinching basket with less than 10 seconds to play, and the Raptors evened their first-round playoff series at 1-1. DeMar DeRozan had 23 points, Serge Ibaka added 13 of his 16 in the second half and Jonas Valanciunas had 10 points and 10 rebounds for the Raptors, who improved to 5-1 when playing Game 2 of a playoff series on their home court.

Game 3 is Thursday night in Milwaukee.

Giannis Antetokounmpo had 24 points and 15 rebounds for the Bucks. Khris Middleton scored 20 points and Greg Monroe had 18. Lowry scored just four points in Saturday's Game 1 loss, missing all six of his 3-point attempts.